Tails of Sacrifice
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Chapter 15
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Fort Selene Roguelike
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Part 4
How many more walls had they demolished since their encounter with the blacksmith?
Kyuubi stopped counting a long time ago, still following Nightmare's path of destruction. Unfortunately, not all holes left by the enthusiastic and destructive alicorn were big enough for the large kitsune.
Some larger chambers, which she assumed belonged to lesser and regular demons, were in ruins. Their owners were no doubt slain by Nightmare's might.
"Hey, Kyuubi. Are you sure it was wise not to hire Sell Sword? We had enough valuables to hire him for extra-long service."
Kyuubi felt poking on her helmet, then felt the tiny hoof rub behind her ear. She glanced at a bag filled with golem hearts and other loot, which was now attached to the armor on her side, tied with a rope. The bag seemed extra-large, as if ready to burst at any moment.
I suppose we could, but I am not sure how trustworthy a demon mercenary can be, Kyuubi answered as she noticed a hole on the left, with some extra rubble on the ground.
"Didn't he say that he was born from souls of mercenaries that always stayed loyal to their contractors?" Lily asked. "He mentioned something about a demon named Greed, one who often turned on their boss when paid more by the opposition. Even the demons around here couldn't stand this backstabber and decided to get rid of him."
Maybe...But even villains expect and demand loyalty from their subordinates. Any organization, evil or good, will fall apart if members keep backstabbing each other. Examples have to be set and Greed certainly seemed like an obvious target.
"So true. But rest assured that other Templars and I, we will follow you to the fire."
And I will do the same for all of you. I can heal any burns very—
A thin, yet powerful black beam shot across her muzzle, slightly burning tip of her large nose.
"Yip!" Kyuubi yelped, flinching, her rear leg slammed into the floor with a loud thud. She stared in disbelief, watching the battered, flying alicorn glaring at her, hostility in her eyes. The dark mare calmed a moment later and landed next to a wall, recognizing that she wasn’t an enemy. Kyuubi didn’t bother to complain about friendly fire, too focused on injurest and cracked armor.
Nightmare! What happened?
Kyuubi performed a mighty leap, landing in front of the dark mare with a thunderous crash. Her paws sank decimeters deep into the floor.
"So you finally came." The alicorn titled to her side from the impact. She pushed herself to stand on her trembling legs, facing the larger creature once more. "Hmph, took you long enough."
The kitsune dropped to her knees, hastily grabbing the alicorn between her paws. She summoned healing magic as an aura around her third tail came to life.
Drops of sweat gradually appear on Kyuubi's forehead. The more durable and hurt her target was, the more magic is required to heal them. And rejuvenating an injured alicorn proved very draining. Her healing progress was interrupted when Nightmare turned into fog, reforming in front of her muzzle.
The alicorn hovered in mid-air, her body still burned and bruised. "Save your magic. Don’t waste time and energy attending to me."
How am I wasting it? You're not making sense! The kitsune nearly hyperventilated, concern on her face. She moved to grab the alicorn again, only for her paws to be pushed away by Nightmare's trembling forehooves.
"I used most of my reserves to reach this far. I require no less than a week to recover."
Lily peeked from atop the helmet, saying in an annoyed tone, "Well?
Nightmare returned in an equally annoyed voice, “Well, what?”
Lily became even more incensed. “Excuse me, Princess, but you're the one who declared we would storm this fortress. And then you: Left. Us. Behind. We were supposed to help each other. To help conserve your powerful magic for when it is most needed. All of us. But if this was what you meant?" Lily crossed her hooves and averted her gaze. "No wonder you failed to beat this place with that attitude."
The alicorn puffed up indignantly for a spell before she lowered her head and sighed. "I..." She took a deep breath, struggling with the following words. "Sorry. Even after all these years, the concept of teamwork still eludes me. I know I should conserve my magic, but I couldn't help falling back on old habits."
Kyuubi showed an understanding smile. It’s okay. Until now, you could depend only on yourself and Luna. It will change with time, as long as we try to work together from here on out. She glanced at the little door leading to the next chamber. Rest and save your strength. You have been fighting a literal army to reach this far. We will pick up where you left off.
Lily crossed her hooves and murmured under her nose, “Even though we were supposed to clear early defenses so she could storm their elite, not the other way around.”
"Very well. Normally, I would encourage such bravery and determination, but in this case, I have to warn you." Nightmare's ears drooped, her speaking labored. "Do not take any enemies you find this far deep lightly. The guardians here are the elite. Created to be far more powerful. There’s no shame in withdrawing from a challenge you're not ready for."
"’No shame in withdrawing.’ I didn't think I would ever hear those words from you." Lily slid onto her mentor's muzzle. "But we’ll prove you wrong. We’ll show you that you can depend on our power."
The kitsune looked at the tiny head of her student, who stared back into her eyes with full confidence.
"Let's go and show these demons what we're capable of,” Lily said in an encouraging tone.
The kitsune glanced at Nightmare, who sighed resignedly before nodding her permission. Kyuubi nodded in return, forcing her student to maintain balance.
"I will rest here for the moment. I will tell you both again; if you find yourself in trouble, withdraw here, and I shall support you with what’s left of my might."
Understood, Lady Nightmare, we’ll keep that in mind.
The kitsune watched as Nightmare Moon returned to her previous spot with her back against a wall. She levitated over a large bag, placing it next to the dark mare. As the princess looked at her curiously, she explained, Just some loot that we gathered on the way here. It may be helpful to our efforts later. Can you keep an eye on it?
"I will."
As Lily and her mighty mentor destroyed a wall leading into another room, they expected an ambush or at least a few traps to get in their way.
Yet to their surprise, it was empty.
The tiny pony observed her surroundings from her mentor's back with full attention, maintaining a fighting stance. Her mentor lowered herself, having to crawl through the three-meters tall room.
After passing through a few rooms with no traps nor resistance, Lily tapped her chin, now deep in thought. Why was this part of the fortress unguarded? She didn't lower your guard, though. Quite the opposite, she was even more alarmed. 'Quiet before the storm,' as they say.
Finally, after an uneventful bout of exploring, the duo arrived before a set of double-doors leading into a large chamber.
Without hesitation, Lily leaped upward, punching and kicking a few holes in the wall. Her mentor pressed her armored forepaws into two holes, then pulled the damaged wall, tearing it off.
Lily danced in place next to her mentor's rear paws, squealing in excitement. "Go, go, crush that wall!"
I...Think we’ve crushed enough walls for one day.
"When it comes to a siege, there is no such thing as too many crushed walls," Lily commented, trotting next to her mentor's rear legs, taking a few steps for each of the giant being’s.
Kyuubi tensed. Watch out. We have company.
Lily galloped, pressing her hooves against the floor for a quick stop. Now being ahead of her mentor, she took a battle stance. "Only two? That's disappointing."
She eyed her would-be adversaries. One looked like a pegasus but made of polished, shining metal. ‘His’ wings seemed a bit pointy at the end, same for metallic feathers. In terms of size, ‘he’ was no bigger than an average Wonderbolt.
The other golem walked on two legs and had two hands, each with four big fingers and equipped with an ax. This one had a bulky build, reaching three meters in height. Oddly enough, it had one big eye instead of two.
Lily quickly took in her new surroundings. They were in an open space, surrounded by numerous seats from all sides, as if at one of Wonderbolts shows. Were they in a gigantic arena? A few training dummies caught her eye, as well as a balcony with two large chairs decorated with gems.
This place is so big! And coming from me, that’s saying something. Is this an actual colosseum? Or a colosseum-like structure?
Lily looked up at the ceiling, which was at a distance twice longer than her mentor's head. They were indeed inside a chamber in the shape of a dome.
She chuckled at her mentor's words. This place may look big for the giant kitsune, but for her, it seemed endless. She often felt small whenever being in Kyuubi's shadow, but this time she felt minuscule.
"Intruders detected," said the metallic pegasus.
"Master’s orders are clear. They leave, or they serve, or they die." The one-eyed golem pointed his weapons forward. "Choose!"
Those golems can speak. Their owner must have improved them.
"So they can speak, big deal. These two don't look tougher than the others we faced," Lily said under her nose, too quiet for her mentor to hear.
Excuse me. Are the two of you sentient? Can we negotiate? Pretty please?
"Choose! Choose! Choose!"
"Waiting for intruders' decision. Will respond accordingly," said the pegasus.
...Is that a no?
"So much for negotiations." Lily sighed. "You can sit it out. I will handle them." She bent her legs, then sprinted, charging at her now-obvious adversaries. Upon noticing that the pegasus flew up, she jumped, spinning in mid-air. Her spin-kick missed the evasive opponent. Using wind magic, she leaped at the pegasus in mid-air, only to miss again.
Lily smirked in anticipation. Until now, the golems were weaker than average ponies and no more durable than average rock. Even the Royal Guard pulled more resistance before they started getting whipped into shape by her and Kyuubi’s suggested training regiment. "Okay. Maybe I will have to try for a change."
As soon as she landed on the floor, she charged at the cyclops. Seeing the golem's hand preparing for a swing, she backflipped, evading the slash. She touched the ground with a single hoof and bent it, pushing herself upward to dodge the second strike.
"You're wide open now! Take this!" With a swift movement of her foreleg, she delivered a firm punch into golem's head, hearing the clash between hoof and steel. Her eyes opened wide as her opponent didn't lose his head. She didn't even leave a dent.
Lily landed and jumped again, spin-kicking with even greater force. The golem blocked her strike by crossing his hands protectively over his head. The large golem rubbed against the floor with his legs, pushed away a few meters while maintaining balance.
The earth pony gasped. Her kick was strong enough to crack a one-ton boulder, and her foe didn't even flinch. Seeing both axes swinging at her from both sides, Lily stood on her rear legs and raised forelegs defensively. She screamed in pain, feeling the sharp blade sink a little into her hardened limbs.
A few drops of blood fell onto the floor.
Lily yelped upon feeling a large metallic foot kick her muzzle. Her body bounced against the floor, making quite a distance. She gritted her teeth, pushing herself to stand before wiping away a bit of blood from her muzzle.
"Such powerful magic. It is anything but an average golem," she said under her nose before stomping with both of her hooves, causing a weak quake. She took a fighting stance. Both axes, and the golem itself, were infused with powerful magic, strong enough to rival even her own.
Watch out!
Lily looked to her left, her eyes going wide. The metallic pegasus was spinning like a drill, flying at her at high speed.
Her mentor's armored paw moved to block its patch, only for the pegasus to pierce it. Lily's face became pale as the golem drilled through the armor, flesh, and bone of her mentor's giant paw, splashing her blood in all directions. The shrieking scream she heard wasn't pretty.
Feeling a surge of rage, Lily gritted her teeth and focused a large amount of inner magic into her hooves. With a big boost of strength and durability in her forelegs, she pressed both forehooves against the spinning pegasus. She felt metal rub against her limbs at a rapid pace.
Lily's rear legs sank several centimeters into the floor, and her face gained a shade of red. Her body ended up pushed at a quick speed.
Slowly but steadily, the pegasus slowed down due to her efforts, and his spinning came to a hold.
The earth pony felt as if her hooves were on fire, and her bleeding wounds became greatly aggravated from the struggle. That didn't stop her from wrapping her forelegs around the golem's neck. Trapping her foe in a vice-grip, the mighty filly-sized pony started to squeeze, not letting him go.
Like a pony riding a bull, Lily held onto the zipping pegasus, not letting ‘him’ throw her off with aerial maneuvers. She felt her back, head, and limbs slam into the walls, ceiling, and floor. In return, she crushed the golem's neck with her forelegs and did the same to his belly with her rear hooves.
Pain, adrenaline, excitement. She felt it all in this battle of wills.
A noise of cracking metal reached her ears. Her struggle was interrupted upon feeling sharp feathers sink into her fur. The moment she loosened her grip, the flying golem made a quick turn, sending her towards the floor at neck-breaking speed.
Lily watched as the distance from the ground shrank quickly, but as she was about to slam her head into the stone, her mentor's levitation slowed her down.
She crashed into her mentor's paw, which softened her fall.
The earth pony pulled herself away from the soft fur and looked at it. She was sitting in the same spot that not long ago was pierced by the golem pegasus. While the hole in the paw was gone, the one in the armor remained. To Lily's relief, she felt healing magic fill her body. Several seconds later, her forelegs and muzzle no longer hurt.
Are you alright?
"I am, thanks to you." Lily took a fighting stance, glaring at the two golems. Her ears folded back, and a growl of anger escaped her mouth.
The taller golem ran in their direction, ready to slice the kitsune with both axes.
Lily watched as her mentor's levitation restrained its limbs, immobilizing it. Kyuubi didn't stop there as she stretched her other paw, slashing the golem with her large claws after a five-second long swing. Noticing that the kitsune managed to leave small cuts on its body, Lily jumped forward, delivering a burning punch in the damaged spot, creating a hole in the golem Cyclops' belly. A few drops of melted metal fell onto the floor.
"Wait a moment." Lily glanced at her mentor's mouth, seeing her teeth as the kitsune growled and hissed at the metallic pegasus. "I hope this works." She jumped up with all her might, reaching her mentor’s shoulder. She followed up with a leap onto Kyuubi’s head. Seeing as the enemy was circling the large kitsune like a fly, she narrowed her eyes and waited for an opening.
"Kyuubi! Go for a bite!"
Wait, what?!
As soon as the golem flew at Kyuubi's neck, spinning like a drill, Lily intercepted.
She summoned wind magic with her hooves, punching and kicking the spinning golem in mid-air. The moment her foe stopped spinning to regain balance, she kicked him towards her mentor's mouth, using wind magic to restrain its movements.
Lily commanded, "Bite it, now!"
She watched as her mentor assaulted the golem with her teeth, sinking into the hardened metal.
Blegh. Chewing metal. Disgusting!
Lily landed on her mentor's shoulder, watching her spit metallic parts onto the floor. While her mentor lacked combat and hunting experience, she was still a predator specialized against magical creatures. Even a golem enhanced with powerful magic was no match for her teeth.
"Great job! You just defeated a mighty foe. How do you feel?" she asked, looking at Kyuubi in pride.
Like I could vomit. The giant fox stuck out her tongue in revulsion.
"Oh, sorry about that." Lily patted her mentor's neck. Part of her was disappointed to see Kyuubi experienced no growth from eating a magical golem, but she understood. She doubted steel was digestible. So much for that alternative.
"Let's defeat the other golem without resorting to your teeth. You slash it with your claws, and I’ll punch it with my hooves. It’ll hafta break eventually." Lily's attention focused on the remaining golem, more than eager to try to rend that hard metal with her strength. Much to her surprise, the golem walked towards the exit without a care in the world.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" Lily shouted, jumping from her mentor's shoulder. Her chase after the golem was interrupted by a loud voice.
"The show is over! His presence is no longer necessary!"
Lily pulled herself to a full stop and looked left and right. A loud and commanding voice echoes through the colosseum. She heard applause a moment later.
"I congratulate you for defeating one of my elite bodyguards. I expected no less from a kitsune. However, I am astonished by the power of your little ally. So much strength for such a tiny creature."
Lily groaned at the predictable jab towards her size. Only her mighty mentor had the privilege to call her tiny, and she was not going to let it slide. "Show yourself!" Upon seeing a forepaw with damaged armor exposed to her in an invitation, she leaped and settled on it. Her mentor moved the forepaw towards the balcony, where she saw the demonic ‘VIP.’ The earth pony blinked in confusion as she examined this creature.
Two little tornadoes served the demon as his legs, while ice covered its main head.
The main body was a combination of dirt and stone.
One hand looked like a cooled magma, a mix of red and black.
The other hand was like living electricity, producing a spark every few seconds.
It was new and yet familiar to the earth pony at the same time. She already met Elemental Spirits and got on friendly terms with them. They were the ones who taught her how to use their magic with her hooves.
This demon, however, was like a hybrid. Was it made from a few Elemental Spirits mixed into a four-meter tall behemoth?
‘So ancient civilization tried to harness their power,’ Lily thought. ‘And they succeed.’
Were you watching us? And you know that I am a kitsune. Did you serve Ninetails? Kyuubi asked. One glance at her face told Lily that her mentor was determined to get the answer. Seeing Kyuubi with narrowed eyes was a rare sight.
"I served him, indeed. I was his most competent general. When monks and priests pushed back with holy magic, it was I and only I who held my ground against them."
Held your ground? So you killed many, then? Kyuubi asked, feeling burning anger build in her heart. She hoped to learn a bit more about Ninetails, but now her priorities shifted. Humans had their faults, but they did not deserve what her kin had intended for them, not all of them.
"I did," the demon said in pride, his head raised high. He looked the kitsune eye to eye from the higher ground. Their heads were on the same level. "I was one of the survivors from that war before being summoned into this fortress, and I took down at least three churches worth of them."
The kitsune growled as claws shot from her paws, sinking into the rocky floor.
"I am the high demon, Arcana. Master of the elements born from Elemental Spirits. Remember this well." Arcana held his flaming hand in front of his chest and bowed his head. "Oh, but where are my manners? How should I address you, little cub?"
Priestess Kyuubi.
"Priestess?" The demon took two steps forward as gems in the shape of eyes flashed on his icy head. "Did the monks and priests raise you from youth? Do you have no mastery of dark arts?"
I would never stain myself using black magic!
Kyuubi slammed her raised paw into the ground with a loud thud, taking a combat stance over several seconds. She spread her five tails threateningly.
Fortunately, her student leaped fast enough onto her head to avoid being slammed into the floor, as the kitsune forgot she was on her paw. She didn't apologize as her focus remained on the demon ahead of her.
And yes, I was gifted with their forgiveness and kindness. God blessed me with holy magic, and I will use it to give justice to those you slew.
"Haha..." The demon wrapped his hands against his belly as bits of melted rock fell onto the balcony. A loud and long laugh followed. "So you not only serve my former enemies, but you can't even use black magic. I am going to enjoy your servitude."
Servitude? Like I would serve you!
"But you will. How fitting. I served the mighty Ninetails as his general, and now another kitsune will become my slave. Your holy magic may prove useful against my competition in this fortress."
Kyuubi stood on her rear paws, then slammed both forepaws into the ground, scattering rubble in all directions. Do you think I am afraid of you? Holy magic is very advantageous against your kind. She unleashed a battle-hiss. You may have bested little monks and fragile priests, but now you're facing a large kitsune! Let's see how you will fare against a bigger foe for a change!
"Oh, spare me such lofty speeches. Your holy magic may be powerful against me, but it is weak against elemental magic. It won't scratch my shields." Arcana moved his flaming hand behind his back while pointing at the large kitsune with his electric one. "You may be far stronger than those pathetic humans, but compared to Ninetails, you are but a child. And how ironic that you call yourself large when you aren’t even half Ninetails’ size. You possess a mere five tails to his almighty nine. You are small and fragile as any human before you as far as I am concerned.“
Kyuubi narrowed her eyes and growled.
Lily scowled darkly. No one called her mentor ‘small’ and got away with it.
Arcana held out one of his appendages toward her. “I will take your will for my own, turning you into my most elite pawn. Holy magic at my beck and call—oh, so many possibilities. You should feel honored, helping me gain power and influence.” His eyes flashed at the realization. “Oh, yes! Your species has so much growth potential. You may be weak now, but in a century or two, even the demon lord will bow to me. A feared Ninetails will rise again under my rule. I feel ecstasy merely thinking about it.”
A pair of enormous paws smashed against the floor to cut him off from going any further. Kyuubi’s growls sounded outright murderous. I would sooner die than become another destructive Ninetails! I will clean that blight on my species with my own paws.
The kitsune unleashed an enraged roar.
We talked enough! I will fight you here and now!
Kyuubi ignored a weak gasp she heard next to her ear and focused her magic. Adrenaline filled her body. Her always calm composure was broken for the second time. Just like Desire, Arcana found a way to anger her to her core.
"So be it. But rest assured, you are too valuable to die. I will make you my slave after I’ve crushed your body and spirit.”